Prince George's County Public Schools will be closed Wednesday because of the number of staff members who have "requested leave" in support of 'A Day Without a Woman', according to school officials.

About 1,700 of the county's teachers and 30 percent of its transportation staff called in for a leave of absence, according to a statement released by the county's superintendent Kevin Maxwell on Tuesday.

To recognize the significant role women play in all aspects of the socioeconomic system, the international strike urges women to take a day off from work and shop only at women- or minority-owned businesses. Aside from the number of absences, public schools would not be fully equipped with transportation, nor would they provide high levels of productivity or proper safety measures, Maxwell said in his statement.

While the University of Maryland will not close Wednesday, a university Facebook group is calling on undergraduate and graduate workers, staff and faculty to participate in the strike.Dining Services has an emergency plan in place — reverting the dining halls to a snow-day schedule — if the strike significantly affects Dining Services' staff. Some professors have also said they would cancel classes.

The website for the Women's March on Washington, a global movement in January that addressed similar issues to Wednesday's upcoming protest, is encouraging anyone who cannot take a day off from work to show their support by wearing the color red. Red is symbolic of revolutionary love and sacrifice, energy and action and leadership and determination, according to the website.

Aside from just wearing a color, however, the site also encourages people to educate themselves on equal work pay, paid family leave, domestic work or any other conflicts this strike highlights.

Prince George's County Public Schools will be open at its normal hours on Thursday.

Shani Kamberi, a junior chemistry major, testifies before the Maryland House of Delegates Ways and Means committee on Thursday Feb. 21, 2019. Kamberi wrote a bill that would mandate organ and tissue donation education in Maryland public schools for the 2020-21 school year. (Photo by Matthew McDonald/For The Diamondback)